back

tomorrow i'm officially a teacher again. in the contractual sort of way. next monday i'll be a teacher again in the, "hello students! welcome to eighth grade math! i can't wait to explore and discover mathematics with you!" sort of way.

it's going to be fantastic.

i can feel it.

fleet foxes, everybody!

side with the seeds

i can't get this song out of my head.

i'll side with you

if you side with me.

neko case

ok, recap. on sunday evening (july nineteenth), the blinzlers and the silvers descended upon the uptown theatre to enjoy the lovely neko case and her band. on our way to midtown, we discussed our pre-concert meal, and narrowed the potential list to two restaurant contenders - blue koi and mccoys. of course, DOWNER, it was mentioned that blue koi is closed on sundays. riciculous, but whatev. at mccoys, becca and i enjoyed delicious black bean burgers and willis owned a greek pizza (matthew met us later; apparently pastors are expected to work on sundays).

anyway, FAST FORWARD. in the middle of her set, lovely neko says, "yeah, kansas city, i was so bummed - apparently blue koi is CLOSED on sundays. and i really wanted some of those fantastic noodles." yes, neko. we commiserate. although our plight is not so tragic since we, uh, live here. so basically, were it not closed on sundays, we could have dined with neko case at blue koi.

anyway, the show was excellent. i mean REALLY, REALLY excellent. great crowd. we sat in the balcony, a few rows back, and had a great view of the stage. neko case has THE most extraordinary red hair and she sings with more clarity and heart and power than i've heard possibly ever. the banter between neko and her back-up singer, kelly hogan, was excellent as well. the set list is here, and i encourage you to give her a listen when you have the opportunity. her lyrics, especially on her most recent album, middle cyclone, speak about life (the good, the bad, the ugly) with the most fantastic nature imagery. all in all, an excellent evening. it's so unfortunate you weren't there enjoying it with us.

dust

please excuse me while i clear away the dust from this dear little blog. i'll soon be back with many a life update (in a little more detail than i typically facebleet).

i'm also brainstorming about how i can give this blog a bit more structure. i'm tentatively planning a music monday post, which i'm wildly excited about. however, there are six other days each week, and, while i do have a few ideas for posts on those days, i would love some input.

in case you're interested, here's a little documentary i'm looking forward to seeing.

hunch

i will no longer be making decisions, because now i have a hunch.

this is a short little break between long massive assignments.

for entertaining entertainment, check out this.

thomas the writer (not to be confused with thomas the tank...engine(?)) is the boyfriend of jensie who is a friend of me (via willis) and mother of the fabulous little marlo girl.

anyway, the reading of this blog may actually elicit out loud laughter, so get ready. side note: i don't know thomas well at all. i've only met him twice actually, and the second time, willis accidentally insulted thomas. it was a giant misunderstanding that was awkwardly (very awkwardly) reconciled in the ninety or so seconds following the insult.

so there you have it.

ah, life.

bambi?

if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

this is one possible explanation for my absence.  

i am currently:

missing my husband.

overwhelmed by the sheer volume of homework to complete.

and our ridiculous summer schedule.

and ending a job.

and buying a house(ish.  i hope.  we'll see.)

and my gram's new knee. 

(i'm overwhelmed by each of the last four, in case you were struggling to follow the symmetry of the broken sentences.  in case you are confused, replace "and" with  "overwhelmed by".)

symmetry of the broken.  i like it.

she & him.  

in case you wonder while you listen,

the she is zooey deschanel.  the he is m. ward.

enjoy.

wilco

total blogger slacker as of late. it's not for lack of things to write about, to be sure. there are plenty, PLENTY of things i want to share. i just haven't had the discipline to sit at my computer and type. i suppose i've been choosing to spend my time in other ways. but here's a post (extremely topical) about something that's my favorite.

i first learned of wilco when my endearingly eccentric and awesome brother put i am trying to break your heart on his christmas list.  i visited most electronic media sellers in the kc metro trying to find him the dvd.  that summer, the same (my only) brother gave me a copy of yankee hotel foxtrot, and i took it with me to chicago.  i spent that summer teaching mathematics on the south side, learning about the city, and listening that album on my discman (i was less than two months from my first iPod and iBook) as i drifted off to sleep and reflected on my past and my present and my future.  i became completely enamored with this album and spent much of my off time perusing used record stores with my new friends trying to build my wilco discography.  

the night willis and i met (through a friend of a friend of a friend at an unsuspecting and random game night), we were seated at his basement table with said friends, and willis asked for music requests, as i would learn over time was so typical of him (willis cares to do few things without the accompaniment of his favorite albums).  wilco was his first suggestion, and our eyes locked as i said "i love wilco."  it was, in retrospect of course, an instant connection.  that night, he gave me a copy of kicking television, to which i listened repeatedly for weeks.  

a couple of weeks later, via xanga, i casually mentioned an upcoming wilco show in kansas city, hoping that willis would say, "i'm totally down."  he did exactly that, and by the time the show arrived, we were bf and gf (aw.) and we held hands as i was blown away by my first live jeff tweedy experience.

you know the important details in between.  we fell in love, married and have since seen wilco a second time.  we recently learned that wilco is playing red rocks this summer.  a favorite at a venue we have always wanted to visit.  um, yes please.  we purchased the tickets yesterday and will take a whirlwind road trip july 2-4.

also yesterday, jay bennett, former member of wilco, died in his sleep.  willis and i were sad.  i have since learned that jay was a graduate of uiuc with degrees in political science, mathematics, and secondary education, which, for some reason, makes me happy.

all this to say that wilco is on my brain.  hence the relatively long post.